The Hobbit leads U.K. box office into 2013

Peter Jackson's fantasy blockbuster The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey marched into the new year (13) as Britain's top film after shining at the box office on the final weekend of 2012.

The Lord of the Rings prequel held onto the number one spot for the third consecutive weekend after bringing in takings of $11 million.

The film saw off competition from Ang Lee's acclaimed adaptation of Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi, which scored second place with $6.7 million, ahead of Tom Cruise's latest blockbuster Jack Reacher, which entered the box office chart in third place after garnering just $5.8 million in its opening weekend.

The top five is rounded out by Pitch Perfect and Parental Guidance, which both took in the region of $2.08 million.

Bond blockbuster Skyfall remains in the chart at number seven after breaking records by becoming the first ever 007 movie to shatter the $1 billion mark at the global box office.